Military Vehicles, March 1997,: Fort McCoy update March 12, 1997
Fort McCoy update March 12, 1997
MVBOATNUT@aol.com
Wed, 12 Mar 1997 06:28:02 -0500 (EST)
Man guilty in military thefts
By Kevin Murphy
Special to the Journal Sentinel
March 12, 1997
Madison -- A Hudson man was convicted Tuesday in federal court on 11 felony
counts stemming from
the theft of 150 military vehicles from Fort McCoy -- believed to be the
largest theft from a U.S. military
base -- between September 1994 and June 1996.
After a five-day trial, jurors deliberated nine hours Monday and Tuesday
before convicting Leo A. Piatz
Jr., 37, of one count of conspiracy to steal military property, two counts of
bribery and eight counts of
converting military property for his own use.
Piatz, a military surplus equipment dealer, faces a maximum punishment of 125
years in prison at his
May 13 sentencing before U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb.
Piatz, owner of Tony's Military Surplus, showed no reaction when the verdict
was read.
When asked afterward how he felt, he shrugged and looked dejected. When asked
whether he had any
comment, he responded softly, "No, not really."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rita Klemp had no immediate comment on the verdicts,
but defense attorney
Steven Pihlaja expressed dejection.
"I've been doing this for a while. I don't if there's anything that feels
like it in the world like when the
jury rejects everything you've presented," he said.
Pihlaja said the defense has not yet decided whether to appeal.
Piatz was considered the mastermind behind the thefts that authorities said
involved six other men
who sold, bought or hauled the vehicles. Piatz admitted while testifying last
week to giving $27,000 to
Range Safety Officer Donald Crandall between August 1994 and March 1995 for
access to the vehicles
on the base's artillery firing range. The vehicles had been used as targets.
Prosecutors said most of the equipment was sold to collectors and military
museums. Other deals
included the sale of a runway snow blower truck to a Colorado ski resort for
$53,900, Bach said.
Piatz tried to lease equipment, including a missile launcher, to 20th Century
Fox for use in filming a
movie about the Persian Gulf War, "Courage Under Fire," but the studio
decided against the deal, Bach
said.
Within weeks, Piatz begin hauling off vehicles that had not been used as
targets, including Jeeps,
heavy-duty trucks, missile launchers, a Sheridan tank and self-propelled
howitzer, said Assistant U.S.
Attorney Daniel Bach.
Range Maintenance Officer Dennis Lambert allegedly arranged for carloads of
missile launchers, prized
by collectors, to be shipped to Fort McCoy from bases in other states. Piatz
gave Lambert equipment
including a truck and crane in exchange for his help, Bach said.
Piatz's bribery convictions involved payments of $4,000 and $2,000 to
Crandall in 1995, which was his
10% commission on the equipment sales Piatz made in several states.
Crandall, 38, of Sparta, has pleaded guilty to converting government property
to his own use and is
scheduled to be sentenced next month. Lambert, 52, of Black River Falls, is
scheduled for trial in June
with the four other defendants.
The other defendants are Grant Kruger, 43, of Maplewood, Minn.; David Butler,
44, of Fairfield, Iowa;
Loyd Pilgrim, 37, of Amery; and George Pretty, 59, of Sturgis, Mich. All of
them intend to stand trial,
but Piatz's convictions on all 11 counts "demonstrates the strength of our
case," said Bach.
All or parts of the stolen vehicles have been recovered, and none was
considered an operable offensive
weapon, said U.S. Attorney Peggy Lautenschlager. Most of the equipment has
been returned to Fort
McCoy, located near Sparta about 95 miles northwest of Madison.
The vehicles cost the Army $13 million to acquire new, but because they were
considered surplus
when stolen, their value may be considerably less, Klemp said.
At times, the FBI and Defense Department had more than 30 agents
investigating the thefts. The case
was of significant concern to the government and resulted in a re-evaluation
of systems used to
identify and locate vehicles sent as surplus to military bases.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.